TFTP Router Flasher

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TFTP Router Flasher is a cross-platform command-line tool for flashing firmware to routers using the TFTP protocol. It is designed to assist in firmware recovery for routers that support TFTP-based rescue modes, such as many ASUS RT-series models.

This tool is a modern rewrite of the original arescue script by Joonas Nissinen. It has been updated for Python 3, refactored for clarity, and packaged as a CLI utility with improved logging, interface detection, and dependency management.

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📚 Contents

• ✨ Features
• 📦 Installation
• 🛠️ Build Requirements
• 🚀 Usage
• 🖥️ Compatibility
• 📄 License
• 🤝 Contributing
• ⚠️ Disclaimer

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✨ Features

• 🛠️ Automatically configures your network interface for rescue mode
• 📡 Scans IP ranges to detect routers in recovery mode
• 📤 Uploads firmware via TFTP using a Python client
• 🧾 Logs all activity to both console and file
• 🧪 Includes retry logic and fallback IP configurations
• 🧰 Packaged for easy installation and CLI use

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📦 Installation

Clone the repository and install locally:

git clone https://github.com/vr-ski/tftp-router-flasher.git
cd tftp-router-flasher
pip install .

This will install the CLI command tftp-router-flasher, which you can run from your terminal.

💡 Make sure you're using pip >= 21.3 to ensure proper support for pyproject.toml builds.

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🛠️ Build Requirements

Click to expand Linux setup instructions

TFTP Router Flasher depends on Python packages like psutil that include native C extensions. To install successfully, your system must have:

• A C compiler (e.g. gcc)
• Python development headers (e.g. Python.h)
• Build tools (e.g. make, binutils)

🐧 Linux Setup Instructions

✅ Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential python3-dev

✅ CentOS / RHEL / Fedora

sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"
sudo dnf install python3-devel

✅ Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S base-devel python

✅ Void Linux

sudo xbps-install -S base-devel python3-devel

Once these are installed, you can run:

pip install .

Or, if you're using a virtual environment:

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install .

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🚀 Usage

tftp-router-flasher --firmware /path/to/firmware.trx --interface eth0

CLI Options

Flag	Description	Default
--firmware	Path to the firmware file	(required)
--interface	Network interface to use	en0
--hostname	Router IP address	192.168.1.1
--timeout	TFTP upload timeout (seconds)	120
--no-ping	Disable ping check. Useful for some models	False
--debug	Enable debug logging	False

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🖥️ Compatibility

Click to view supported platforms

Tested on:

• ✅ Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Arch)
• ✅ macOS
• ⚠️ Windows (not officially supported due to reliance on ip and route commands)

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the GPL-2.0 License.

This project is inspired by arescue by Joonas Nissinen, originally licensed under GPL-2.0. All original credit goes to the author.

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🤝 Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! If you’ve tested this with other router models or added new features, feel free to open an issue or submit a PR.

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⚠️ Disclaimer

This tool is provided as-is. Flashing firmware can permanently damage your device if done incorrectly. Use at your own risk.